Racing Deny Halfpenny Approach

Racing Metro have distanced themselves from making an approach for British & Irish Lions star Leigh Halfpenny with their president Jacky Lorenzetti denying any contact with the fullback’s representatives.

Halfpenny, whose contract is up at the end of the season, is one of the most sought after players in world rugby having starred for both Wales and the Lions in recent times. Earlier in the year, he was named the Six Nations Player of the Championship having slotted 74 points for Wales and helped them secure their second northern hemisphere title in as many seasons.

And for the Lions, Halfpenny shone for the tourists scooping the Player of the Series award for a host of superb performances including his man of the match showing in the final Test.

With fellow Lions Dan Lydiate, Jonathan Sexton and Jamie Roberts preparing for life at Racing Metro next season, Halfpenny has been heavily linked with a move to join them in France. But despite reports in the Rugby Paperstating that Toulon, Clermont and Metro had all met Halfpenny’s representatives, the Parisian side have released a statement denying any contact.

“Racing Metro 92, through its president Jacky Lorenzetti, wishes to deny this information. The club is not one of the proposed bidding agents.”

Despite Metro’s apparent distancing from Halfpenny, the Welsh Rugby Union is still on high alert as it attempts to keep one of Wales’ top players at his current region the Cardiff Blues. The Blues’ CEO Richard Holland is fully aware of the uphill battle that his organisation faces with the Top 14 clubs able to offer Halfpenny a bigger deal.

And Holland has confirmed the Blues will be helped financially by the WRU when they sit down and offer Halfpenny a new contract.

“We haven’t got three-quarters of a million to put on the table, or half a million,” Holland told the Rugby Paper. “I will be honest with his representatives and tell them what we can afford. There has to be a realisation that we can only afford so much.

“All I can do is put forward something which is competitive and we are confident we can broker a deal to keep Leigh at the Blues. The WRU has made additional funds available.”

Here’s a video looking back at Halfpenny’s player of the tournament performance for the Lions in Australia